Coin controlled mechanism



April 14, 1942,

F. C; DU GRENIER com CONTROLLED MECHANISM Filed July 31, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 14, 1942. Y

F. c. DU GREN'IER 2,279,665 com CONTROLLED MECHANISM Filed July 51, 1940 s Shets-Sheet 2 ,April 14, 1942- c, DU GRENIER 2,279,665

CO IN CONTROLLED MECHANISM Filed July 51, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 April 14, 1942. F C. DU GRENI ER 3,279,665

COIN CONTROLLED MECHANISM :Filed July 51, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 April 14, 1942. F. c. DU GRENIER 9,

COIN CONTROLLED MECHANISM v Filed July 51, 1940 s sheets-sheet s Patented Apr. 14, 1942 Ul'lED smrss forties COIN CONTROLLED MECHANISM Francis 0. Du Grenier, Haverhill, Mass, assignor of one-half to Blanche E. Bouchard, Haverhill, Mass.

Application July 31, 1940, Serial No. 348,855

15 Claims. (Cl. 194-17) This invention relates to certain improvements on the coin controlled mechanism disclosed in my application filed June 9, 1939, Serial No. 278,278, in which a series of ejectors are provided at the bottom of a row of article containing It was considered undesirable to rely on the V intercepting abutments to prevent illegal opera tion of the machine, as it was considered that continued pulling out of the ejecting mechanism,

without the proper coin having been first inserted, would result in the wearing away of the intercepting abutments, so that, in time, packages could be ejected from the machine without the insertion of any coin.

To avoid reliance on the intercepting abutmerits, it was considered desirable to provide a locking latch which would prevent any ejecting mechanism from being operated unless a coin or coins of a value corresponding to the value of the articles which would be ejected by the mechanism had been inserted.

The coin controlled mechanism disclosed in said application which varied the extent of motion permitted by the intercepting abutments according to the value of the coin or coinsiin serted was considered satisfactory and that now disclosed is substantially the same as that previcusly disclosed.

The objects of the present invention are to provide in connection with said coin controlled mechanism a master lock or latch, which prevents operation of any of the ejectors unless a proper coin has been inserted, and also to provide in connection therewith a controlling means for said latch which will permit operation of certain ejectors after the machine has become unlocked, according to the value of the coin or coins which have been inserted, but which will instantly relock all the ejectors against operative movement if an operating handle is moved in an attempt, whether intentional or unintentional, to secure articles of higher value than the value of the coin or coins which have been inserted.

I accomplish these objects by providing a locking latch which is normally-held in a position to lock all of the article ejectors against operativemovement, in connection with a controlling de vice which is so arrangedthat when the ejector for a certain compartment is operated, after the proper coin has been inserted, the latch will be moved to an inoperative position to permit the. operation, but when an ejector .is operated of a compartment containing articles of higher value than that of the'coins inserted the controlling device will-instantly release the latch so that it will be returned to-locking position.

For a disclosure of the mechanism which is employed to accomplish these objects, reference is now made to the followingspecification in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: V,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, of a'vending'machine embodying my present invention. v Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the coin'controlled mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a plan view partly-in section of the latch' controlling means which is employed.

Figs. 4 to 9 inclusive are position views in side elevation of the latch controlling means.

Fig. 10. is a detail view of one of the ejector Q engaging abutments.

Fig. 11 is a detail view of the controlling finger. Figs. 12 and 13 are perspective views illustrating the action of the operating levers.

, Fig. 14 is a sectional view taken on the line lt-l tl of Fig.2 showing the auxiliary coin engaging levers.

Fig; 15 is a sec |5 |5 of Fig.2, H v

As shown in the drawings, the casing H] has a row of vertical compartments H, in which the packages to be 'vended are stacked, and in the bottom of each of which is an ejector I2, to each of which an operating handle I3 is attached, the ejecting action being the same as in similar machines, i. e., the ejector is pulled out, so that the bottom package falls to the bottom of the compartment, and, on the return movement, the ejector pushes the package rearward from beneath the stack, I and it is discharged into a tional view taken on the line passage and is delivered to the customer on the shelf M. A U-shaped shaft I5 is journalled at each end in the casing and its horizontal middle change dispenser or both, neither being shown, and the right hand end extends thru the casing and has a ratchet arm l6 rigidly connected thereto. Said ratchet arm has the usual teeth I1 which, in conjunction with pawl l8, necessitate a complete operation of the ejector which is pulled out. Said arm l6 also has a main tooth l9, and a locking latch 20 is pivotally mounted at 20' and is so arranged that normally, if no coin has been inserted and any ejector is pulled outward a short distance, the tooth |9 will engage the latch 28, and positively lock the machine against further movement of the ejector.

An operating lever 2| is mounted at its middle portion on a pivot 22 to swing horizontally, and the front end of said lever is arranged to be engaged by a roll 23 on the ratchet arm, l6, so that when the arm is swung forwardly by the action of pulling an ejector outward, the front end of lever 2| will be swung outward and its rear end inward. A U-shaped shaft 24 is pivoted at its ends in lugs 25 on the frame and is engaged by the rear end of lever 2|, so that when lever 2| is swung by the ratchet'arm 6, the middle portion of shaft 24 will be swung inward.

Two actuating levers 26 and 2'! are mounted-in slots formed in lugs 28, 29 on the frame and the rear ends of said levers engage projections 3|] on a fixed bracket 3| and hold them against rearward movement. The levers 26 and 2'! are provided with forked rear ends 26', 21', respectively, the fingers of each fork being located on opposite sidesof the shaft 24. Thus, when the shaft 24 is swung about its pivot the levers 26 and 21 will also be moved. Said levers are also provided with projecting arms 32, 33- respectively at their middle portions which are arranged to extend thru holes in the casing. (See Figs. 2, l2 and 13.)

As shown in Figs. 2 and 15, when a dime is inserted in passage D, it comes to rest in the position DX on the coin support 80. The coin defiector 8| is pivoted at 82 and has a coin deflecting portion 83 atits top end and a coin engaging portion 84 at itsbottom end. The deflector 3| is counter-weighted so that its top portion 83 is normally withdrawn from the coinpassage and permits the coin to fall into the position DX. When this occurs, the coin engages the end portion 84 and pushes it aside so that the top portion 83 moves acrossthe passage leading to the position DX, as shown in Fig. 15. As a result the dime which is inserted will be prevented from entering the passage which leads to the position DX thereof engage the opposite ends of a transmitting lever 34, which is pivotally connected at its middle by pivot 35 to the lower end of an L- ;at that point, so that, when lever 36 is swung and will be deflected into a by-passage D, indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and will come to rest on-the face 85 on the top end of support 86 in .the positionDY, as indicated in Fig. 2.

The arrangement is such that the first dime which is inserted lodges in position DX to be engaged by the end of arm 32 (see Figs. 2 and 12), and the second dime which is inserted lodges in position DY to be engaged by arm 33 (see Figs. 2 and 13), so that, if no coins are inserted and shaft 24 isswung inward the levers 26 and 21 will merely be pushed inward but will not swing, but

if a dime is inserted it will be engaged by the end ofarm 32 (see Figs. 2 and 12),-thereby permitting lever 26 to swing on its arm 32 as a pivot and when the second dime is inserted lever 21 will also swing on its projection 33 as a pivot (see Figs 2 and 13), when said levers are actuated by shaft 24' The front ends of levers 26 and 27 normally rest against the casing and the outer sides outward on pivot 31, arm 38 will be swung also, the combined efiect being that of a bell crank lever and screw 38 serving as a means of ad justment. A spring 38" is attached to arm 38 in position to hold screw 38 in engagement with arm 36.

The opposite end portion of arm 38 has a bevel gear segment 39 which is arranged in mesh with a beveled gear 46, which is rotatably mounted on a shaft 4| fixed in the frame. An arm 42 is fixed on gear 46, so that when gear 4|] is moved rotatably arm 42 will be swung thereby.

As indicated in Fig. 12, when the first dime DX is inserted and shaft 24 is swung inward the front end of lever 26 will be swung outward, causing the end of lever 34 which it engages to be swung outward, and, as the opposite end of lever 34 bears against the end of lever 21, which in turn bears against the casing, it acts as a fulcrum, so that its middle portion, in which pivot 35 is mounted to connect it to arm 36, is forced outward (see dotted line position of Fig. 12) causing levers 36 and 38 to be swung on pivot 31 and gear 40 to be rotated to a limited extent,

When the second dime DY has been inserted, lever 2'! will also be swung outward at its front end, so that lever 34 will be moved outward bodily, as indicated by the dotted line position of Fig. 13, thereby causing a still further movement of arm 36 and gear 48. As shown in Figs. 2 and 14, to provide for the insertion of a nickel and a dime or two, three, or four nickels, the levers 26 and 21 are provided with cross-shaped openings 44' and 45' in which auxiliary levers 44 and 45, respectively are pivotally mounted, to the ends of which, nickel engaging members I44, I45, I46, I41 are attached. 7

The action of the auxiliary levers and the nickel engaging members is similar to that described in connection with dimes. After a single nickel N has been inserted, it will be engaged by the finger or member 41 and when the lever 21 is actuated by arms 24 the lever 45 will be tilted slightly, as the finger I46 will, if no coin is opposite the finger I46, merely engage the inner side of the coin passage I48, but as the end of the lever engaged by the finger I41 will be held against inward movement by the coin, it will become a fulcrum for the lever 21, so that the front end thereof will impart movement to the lever 34 and swing the lever 38 to rotate the bevel gear 40 a predetermined amount. In like manner, if a second nickel N is inserted, the lever 45 will be held from tilting by the coin as shown in Fig. 14. Thus, the lever 21 will be swung outward to its fullest extent and the bevel gear 40, which meshes with the segment 39, will be rotated an additional similar amount, thereby releasing the latch 28 to permit operation of ejectors in compartments containing ten cent articles. Thus, the result is the same as when a single dime has been inserted except that it is secured through the lever 21 instead of through the lever 26.

On the insertion of three nickels a full movement of the lever 21 and a half movement of the lever 25 will be secured, as shown in Fig. 14. The same result will be secured on the insertion of a dime and a nickel except that in the case a full movement of the lever 26 and a half movement of the lever 2'! would be secured.

In like manner if four nickels are inserted, the result will be the same as when two dimes are inserted. While the pivotal points'of levers 26, 27 are not precisely in the same places when dimes are inserted as when the nickels are inserted, they are the same for all practical purposes, as the effective action of the levers 25 or 21 on the bevel gear lil is substantially the same.

The mechanism as thus far described for actuating the bevel gear Ml is substantially the same as that disclosed in my prior application, except that the latch 20 is now entirely relied on to prevent illegal operation of the machine. The manner in which the operation of latch 20 is controlled will now be described.

A square shaft 59 is rotatably mounted in the frame at each end and extends in front of the ejectors and a series of abutments shown in detail in Fig. 10, are attached thereto, a screw being passed thru the middle of each abutment, and one abutment being arranged in front of each ejector, Each abutment has two abutting faces 52, 53 arranged at slightly different angles to the middle portion thereof, so that when the abutment is attached to a flat side of shaft 50 with the face 52, which as marked for 15, extending into the path of movement of an ejector it will be engaged by the ejector slightly in advance of the engagement by the ejector if adjusted so that the other face 53, which is marked for 2%, would be engaged by the ejector. It will be understood that the abutment for any compartment may be readily adjusted by loosening the attaching screw and turning the abutment so that one face or the other depends into the path of the ejector and if it is desired that neither face be held in position for engagement, the abutment may be adjusted to a horizontal position, as indicated in the right hand compartment of Fig. 1, this being the position in which an abutment is adjusted to vend a package from this compartment. The other abutments are shown as adjusted for vending or articles.

As best shown in Figs. 4 to 9, a link 55 is connected at one end by pivot 56 to latch 2t and, at its opposite end, by ivot 57 to an arm 58, which is mounted on a fixed pivot 59. A spring 68 is attached to arm 53 at pivot 51 and to a fixed pin 5! and acts to urge the latch 20 towards its locking position.

A horizontally disposed slide 52 is mounted between two guide pins 6! and 63 and a spring 64 is attached to pin 53 and to the rear end of slide $2 and tends to urge it forwardly. The front end of slide t2 has an upwardly extending arm 65 in which a, vertical slot 65 is formed.

The arm .2, which is fixed on gear Ml, has a finger 68 connected thereto by a pivot 69 and said finger has a right angular extension 10 at its top end. (see Figs. 3 and 11) which extends through slot $5 and is slidably mounted therein and extends beneath the arm 58. The arm 58 has three faces H, 12 and 13, with which the extension 10 engages under different conditions, as hereinafter described. The shaft til has an arm 15 fixed on its right hand end and a pin 16 extends thru a slot ii in the casing and connects arm 15 to the front end of slide .62.

The manner in which the locking latch 20 'is controlled will now be described.

If a dime is inserted to secure an article from the right hand end compartmenufor which the abutment 51 is adjusted in an inoperative position, the gear 40 will be rotated to a slight extent when the operating handle of the ejector of this compartment is pulled out initially, causing arm l2 to push finger 68 upward in slot 66 to a sufficient extent to cause its top end extension ill to engage the face H at the end of arm 58, and swing the latter upwardly sufficiently to lift latch 25) out of position to be engaged by the tooth !9 on the arm I6, as shown in Fig. 4, so that the ejecting operation may be completed.

If, however, the ejector of a compartment from.

which 15 articles art to be vended is pulled out when only coins of the value of 10 have been inserted, the abutment 5| of this compartment will be engaged by the ejector and shaft will be moved rotatably to a slight extent, with the result that the arm l5 thereon will push the slide t2 rearward, thereby pulling the finger 68 so that it swings rearward and carries its top end IE! out of engagement with face 1 l, permitting arm 58to swing down and face 72 to engage finger 68, as shown in Fig. 5, in which position the latch 20 will swing down to its operative position and lock the machine against any ejecting operation. The result would be the same if the ejector of a 20 compartment were pulled out, except that finger 68 would be pulled back so that face 13 would be engaged by finger 68 and the latch 20 would swing down slightly further.

In case coins of the value of 15 are inserted, the initial movement of gear Ml will cause the finger $8 to be raised somewhat higher, as shown in Fig. 6, so that when the ejector of the 15 compartrnent is pulled out and the finger 58 is swung back by the engagement of the ejector with its abutment face 52, so that the finger 58 engages face 72, as shown in full lines in Fig. 7, the latch will still be supportedout of locking position,- so that the ejecting operation may be completed. If, however, the ejector of a 2il compartment should be pulled out after only 15 has been inserted, the finger E 3 would be pulled back until it was engaged by face 13 and as a result the latch would move down to locking position and prevent further operative movement, as indi .cated in'the dotted line position of Fig. '7.

If coins of the value of 20 have been inserted, the finger 68 will be initially raised to a still higher position, as indicated in Fig. 8, so that when the 20 ejector is pulled out and the finger t8 engages the face 13, the latch 2E3 will still be supported in an inoperative position, as shown in Fig. 9, so that the ejecting operation may be completed.

As .a result it will be noted that the machine will he immediately locked by the latch 23 if anyone attempts to secure articles of a greater value than the value of the coin or coins which he inserts. After the machine is locked, the coins which have been inserted may be returned to the operator by means of the usual coin return mechanism with which the machine will be provided.

I claim:

1. In a coin controlled dispensing machine having a series of compartments for containing articles to be vended, an ejector for each com-" partrnent movable from and to its normal position to perform an ejecting operation, operating means for each ejector, a locking latch normally dis'posed to prevent operative movement of all of said ejectors, a controlling device for said latch,

c connections between each operating means and said controlling device, for moving the latter to control the position of said latch, said connectionsincluding coin controlled means for varying the extent of movement of said controlling device according to the value of the inserted coin or coins, whereby the position of said latch will be varied and operative movement of a selected ejector will be permitted or prevented according to the position of said controlling device.

2. In a coin controlled dispensing machine having a series of compartments for containing articles to be vended, an ejector for each compartment movable from and to its normal position to perform an ejecting operation, operating means for each ejector, a locking latch normally disposed to prevent operative movement of all of "said ejectors, a controlling device for said L latch, connections between each operating means and said controlling device, for moving the latter to control the position of said latch, said connections including coin controlled means for varying the extent of movement of said controlling device according to the value of the inserted coin or coins, whereby the position of said latch will be varied and operative movement of a selected ejector will be permitted or prevented according to the position of said controlling device, an intercepting device comprising a shaft having a series of abutments thereon, each abutment extending transversely therefrom into the path of movement of one of said ejectors, whereby said shaft will be moved rotatively when any ejector is moved from normal position, connections between said shaft and said controlling device for moving the latter to a position to return said latch to locking position on rotative movement of said shaft when the controlling device has not i been moved to a position corresponding to the value of the articles contained in the compartment of the ejector which is operated.

3. In a coin controlled dispensing machine having a series of compartments for containing articles to be vended, a separate ejector for each compartment, each having operating means to move it from and to an initial position, a locking device normally actuated to a position to prevent operative movement of said ejectors, a controlling device for said locking device, mechanism between each operating means and said controlling devi-ce having coin-controlled mechanism interposed therein, whereby the extent of movement of said controlling device by each operating means is increased according to'the increased value of the coin or coins inserted, means connecting said controlling device and said locking device for moving the latter to an inoperative position and for holding it in said position in any of the advanced positions of said controlling device, an intercepting device comprising a series of connected abutments each having an abutting face normally disposed in the path of movement of one of said ejectors, and connections between said intercepting device and said locking device whereby when said locking device has been moved to an inoperative position and one of said abutments is actuated by an ejector, return of said locking device to operative position will be permitted, unless said controlling device has been moved to a position to prevent such return.

4. In a coin controlled dispensing machine having a series of compartments for containing articles to be vended, aseparate ejector for each compartment, each having operating means to move it from and to an initial position, a locking device normally actuated to a position to prevent operative movement of said ejectors, a controlling device, for said locking device, mechanism between each operating means and said controlling device, having coin-controlled mechanism interposed therein'whereby the extent of movement of said controlling device by each operating means is increased according to the increased value of the coin or coins inserted, means connecting said controlling device and said locking device for moving the latter to an inoperative position and for holding it in said position in any of the advanced positions of said controlling device, an intercepting device comprising a shaft having a series of transversely extending abutments thereon each having an abutting face normally disposed in the path of movement of one of said ejectors, connections between said shaft and said locking device, whereby when said locking device has been moved to an inoperative position and one of the ejectors engages an abutment face of said shaft and causes rotative movement thereof, said locking device will be returned to locking position, unless said controlling device has been moved to a position to prevent such return.

5. In a coin controlled dispensing machine having a series of compartments for containing articles to be vended, a separate ejector for each compartment, each having operating means to move it from and to an initial position, a locking latch normally actuated to, and held in a position to prevent operative movement of all of said ejectors, a controlling device for said latch, mechanism between each operating means and said controlling device having coin-controlled mechanism interposed therein for advancing said position as said controlling device is moved to any of its advanced positions, an intercepting device comprising a shaft having a transversely extending abutment thereon extending into the path of movement of each ejector, whereby when an ejector is moved from its initial position it will engage an abutment and cause a partial rotation of said shaft, and connections between said shaft and latch for permitting return of the latch to operative position on said partial r0- tation of the shaft, unless said controlling device has been moved to a position to prevent such return.

6. In a coin controlled dispensing machine having a series of compartments for containing articles to be vended, a separate ejector for each compartment each having operating means to move it from and to an initial position, a locking latch normally acting to prevent operative movement of all of said ejectors, a controlling device for said latch, mechanism between each operating means and said controlling device having coin-controlled mechanism interposed therein for moving said controlling device to a series of positions corresponding to the increased value of of connected abutments each having an abutting face normally disposed in the path of movement of one of said ejectors, connections between said intercepting device and said latch, whereby when an abutment is engaged and moved by its ejector, said latch will be returned to operative position unless said controlling device has been moved to a position to prevent suchreturn by the insertion of coins corresponding to the value of articles in the compartment of the ejector which is operated.

'7. In a coin controlled dispensing machine having a series of compartments for containing articles to be vended, a separate ejector for each compartment each having operating means to move it from and to an initial position, a locking latch normally acting to prevent operative move-, ment of all of said ejectors, a controlling device for said latch, mechanism between each operating means and said controlling, device having coin-controlled mechanism interposed therein for moving said controlling device to a series of positions corresponding to the increased value of the coin or coins inserted, means arranged to be engaged by said controlling device for moving said latch to an inoperative position and for holding it in said position" as said controlling device is moved to any of its advanced positions,

an intercepting device comprising a shaft having a plurality of transversely extending abutments, each having an abutting face normally disposed in the path of movement of one of said ejectors, whereby said shaft will be moved rotatably to a limited extent when an ejector is moved from its initial position, means arranged to be actuated by said shaft when moved by one of said ejectors to disengage said latch from said' controlling device and permit its return to operative position, unless said controlling device has been moved to a position toprevent such return by the insertion of coins corresponding to the value of articles in the compartment of the ejector which is operated.

8; In a coin controlled dispensing machine having a series of compartments for containing articles to be vended, a separate ejector for each compartment each having operating means to move it from and to an initial position, a locking latch normally acting to prevent operative movement of all of said ejectors, a controlling device for said lat-ch, mechanism between said operating means and said controlling device having coin-controlled mechanism interposed therein for raising said controlling device to a series of positions corresponding to the increased value of the coin or coins inserted, an arm connected to said latch and having a plurality of faces ar-- ranged to be successively engaged by said controlling device, said faces being arranged at different elevations so that when the controlling device is engaged therewith it will or will not support the latch out of locking position according to the extent to which said locking device has been raised, an intercepting device comprising a shaft having transversely disposed abutments thereon normally extending in the path of movement of each ejector, said abutments having faces disposed in different relative positions so that the extent of movement of said shaft depends on the position of each abutment with relation to its ejector, connections between said shaft and said controlling device for moving the latter transversely into position to be engaged by the faces of said arm, whereby the extent to which the controlling device has been raised through said coin-controlled mechanism and the extent to which it is moved transversely by said intercepting device determines whether the latch will be held in locking or unlocking position.

9'. In a coin controlled dispensing machine having a series of compartments for containing articles to be vended, a separate ejector for each compartment, each having operating means to move it from and to an initial position, a locking device normally actuated to a position to prevent operative movement of said ejectors, a controlling device, for said locking device, mechanism between each operating means and said controlling device, having coin-controlledmechanism interposed therein whereby the extent of movement of said controlling device by each opv crating means is increased according to the increased value of the coin or coins inserted, means connecting said controlling device and said locking device for moving the latter to an inoperative, position and for holding it in said position in any of the advanced positions of said controlling device, an intercepting device comprising a shafthaving a series or abutments thereon each abutment consisting of a metal strip havin faces at opposite ends disposed at different angles to the middle portion thereof, means for pivotally connecting each abutment at its middle portion to the shaft, whereby either face thereof may be disposed in the path of movement of an ejector, and the extent of movement of the shaft by an ejector may be varied, connections between said shaft and said controlling device whereby the lateral position of the latter will be varied according to the extent to which said shaft is moved by an ejector, an arm connected to said locking device and having a series of faces arranged to be successively engaged by saidv controlling device to support said locking device in an inoperative position or to permit it to move to an operative position according to the extent to which the coin-controlled means has raised the controlling means.

10. In a coin controlled dispensing machine having a series of compartments for containing articles to be vended, an ejector for each compartment movable from and to its normal position to perform an ejecting operation, operating.

means for each ejector, a locking latch normally disposed to prevent operative movement of all ofsaid ejectors, a controlling device for said latch, connections between each operating means and said controlling device, for moving the latter to control the. position of said latch, said con- 1 nections including coin-controlled means comprising an actuating lever having one arm en-,

gaged with 'said operating means and its other arm engaged with said controlling device and means for varying; the position of the fulcrum of said lever by the insertion, of a coin or coins in position to be engaged thereby when actuated to vary the extent of actuating movement imparted to said controlling device by said lever according to the valuelof the coin'or coins. inserted,

whereby the position of said latch will be varied and operative movement of a selected ejector will be permitted or prevented according to the position of said controlling device.

11. In a coin controlled dispensing machine having a series of compartments for containing articles to be vended, an ejector for each compartment movable from and to its normal position to perform an injecting operation, operating means for each ejector, a locking latch normally disposed to prevent operative movement of all of said ejectors, a controlling device for said latch, connections between each operating means and saidcontrolling device, for moving the latter to control the position of said latch, said connections including coin-controlled means comprising an actuating lever having one arm engaged with said operating means and its other arm engaged with said controlling device, means to provide a fulcrum for said lever to permit effective action thereof by inserting a coin in position to be engaged thereby, whereby a predetermined movement may be imparted to said controlling device, means for changing the position of said fulcrum by the insertion of a second coin in position to be engaged thereby to impart fura ther movement of said controlling device by said lever when actuated, whereby the extent of movement of said controlling device and the position of said latch may be varied and operative movement of a selected ejector will be permitted or prevented according to the position of said controllin device.

12. In a coin controlled dispensing machine having a series of compartments for containing articles to be vended, an ejector for each compartment movable from and to its normal position to perform an ejecting operation operating means for each-ejector, a locking latch normally disposed to prevent operative movement of all of said ejectors, a controlling device for said latch, connections between each operating means and. said controlling device, for moving the latter to control the position of said latch, said connections including coin-controlled means comprising a pair of actuating levers each having an arm engaged with said operating means and an arm engaged with said controlling device, said levers being so arranged that when no coin has been inserted said levers will be moved laterally without transmitting efiective movement to said controlling device, means for holding the first coin inserted in position to act as a fulcrum for one of said levers and for holding the second coin inserted in position to act as a fulcrum for the other of said levers, means interposed between the arms of said levers which are engaged with said controlling device for moving the latter to a certain extent when one of said levers is operatively actuated by said operating means and to a furtherextent when both are operatively actuated thereby, whereby the extent of movement of said controlling device will be varied according to the value of the coins inserted and operative movement of a selected ejector will be permitted or prevented according to the position of said controlling device.

13. In a coin controlled dispensing machine having a series of compartments for containing articles to be vended, an ejector foreach compartment movable from and to its normal position to perform an ejecting operation, operating means for each ejector, a locking latch normally disposed to prevent operative movement of all of said ejectors, a controlling device for said latch, connections between each operating means and said controlling device, for moving the latter to control the position of said latch, said connections including coin-controlled means comprising an actuating lever having one arm engaged by said operating means and its other arm engaged with said controlling device, an auxiliary lever pivotally mounted at its middle portion on said actuating lever and having coin engaging means at each end, means to deliver the first coin inserted in position to be engaged by one of said engaging means and the second coin inserted by the other engaging means, whereby a fulcrum for said actuating lever is provided, and a predetermined movement will be imparted to said controlling device by said actuating lever when actuated and operative movement of a selected ejector will be permitted or prevented according to the position of said controlling device. 14. In a coin controlled dispensing machine having a plurality of compartments for containing articles to be vended at different price values, a separate ejector for each compartment movable from and to an initial position to perform a dispensing operation, a locking device normally disposed to prevent operative movement of all of said ejectors but permitting an initial movement thereof, mechanism actuated by initial movement of any ejector for moving said locking device out of its locking position including coin controlled means for varying the extent of movement of said device according to the value of the coin or coins inserted, and means rendered operative by movement of a selected ejector for positioning said device in its locking position if the value of the coin or coins inserted is less than the price value of an article contained in the compartment of the ejector which is moved.

15. In a coin controlled dispensing machine having a plurality of compartments for containing articles to be vended at different price values, a separate ejector for each compartment movable from and to an initial position to perform a dispensing operation, a pivoted latch permittin an initial movement of said ejectors but normally positioned to lock said ejectors to prevent operative movement thereof, a pivotal arm, means for transmitting movement of said arm to said latch, a pivoted slide adapted to engage said arm to control the movement of said latch into and out of its locking position, mechanism adapted to be actuated by initial movement of any one of said ejectors for moving said slide to control the movement of said arm in one direction including coin controlled means for varying the extent of said movement of said slide according to the value of the coin or coins inserted, and means rendered operative by movement of a selected ejector for turning said slide about its pivot to control movement of said arm in the opposite direction whereby said latch is positioned in its locking position when the value of the inserted coin or coins is less than the value of an article contained in the compartment of the selected ejector which is moved.

FRANCIS C. DU GRENIER. 

